PREFACE.
I desire to express my profound indebtedness, for the central mythological idea embodied in this tale, to Mr.J.G.

Frazer's admirable and epoch-making work, "The Golden Bough," whose main contention I have endeavored incidentally to popularize in my present story.

I wish also to express my obligations in other ways to Mr.Andrew Lang's "Myth, Ritual, and Religion," Mr.H.O.

Forbes's "Naturalist's Wanderings," and Mr.
Julian Thomas's "Cannibals and Convicts." If I have omitted to mention any other author to whom I may have owed incidental hints, it will be some consolation to me to reflect that I shall at least have afforded an opportunity for legitimate sport to the amateurs of the new and popular British pastime of badger-baiting or plagiary-hunting.

It may also save critics some moments' search if I say at once that, after careful consideration, I have been unable to discover any moral whatsoever in this humble narrative.